John H. Klaasen IV, of Hayden Lake, Idaho, a stockbroker registered with Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner Smith Incorporated, was the subject of a customer initiated investment related complaint filed on September 29, 2023. The customer requested compensatory damages based upon allegations that Klaasen supposedly failed to follow instructions regarding the purchase of certain securities from January 2021 through April 2022, when Klaasen was associated with Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner Smith Incorporated. When the customer supposedly placed these orders or when the customer knew or should have known these orders were not placed over this period of more than fifteen (15) months, there is no clue. Hindsight is always 20/20.
The complaint was closed with no further action taken by the customer.
However, this is not the first time that Klaasen has been referenced in a customer initiated investment related dispute concerning Klaasen’s conduct in the securities industry. FINRA Public Disclosure shows that Klaasen is also referenced in a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim in which the customer requested compensatory damages based upon allegations that Klaasen made unsuitable investment recommendations and engaged in unauthorized trading in stocks during the time that Klaasen was associated with Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner Smith Incorporated. FINRA Arbitration No. 23-01968 (July 13, 2023).
Klaasen was associated with Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner Smith Incorporated in Hayden Lake, Idaho from April 8, 2005, to April 27, 2022. Klaasen has been associated with UBS Financial Services Inc. in Denver, Colorado, since April 26, 2022.
